APRIL 10, 1939

HYDE PARK, N. Y. Sunday—Easter Day, in a world where a great number of men seem to be thinking of destruction, and the Resurrection of the Prince of Peace is celebrated. Some of His followers thought He had come to reign over an earthly kingdom. They found it hard to understand that He should die like a criminal in order that He could rise again within men's hearts and live through the ages as the personification of love and forgiveness. His way was the only way to peace among men. He charted a way for the world but He has not as yet won His kingdom. It still exists only in the hearts of some people and the fight goes on. Every Easter we are reminded that it is possible to triumph over hate, greed and horror and that the Christ still lives and waits for His kingdom.

The other night I saw a play, "Family Portrait," which, just at this season, I think, is good to see. Judith Anderson gives a remarkable performance. To play as she does, must mean there is something within her which can soar above most ordinary mortals. I wonder if the part, itself, does not leave something indelibly written on the soul of the person who plays it. Lenore Coffee and William Joyce Cowen have written a very moving play. Wisely, the Christ, around whom the whole play centers, never appears on the stage. You see His family, His friends, the influence of His work, and you see Him through the eyes of His world. Curiously enough, His world is not so very different from the world today, and so I did not miss the costumes of other days. The casting seemed to me very good. Juda and Judas Iscariot stand out in my memory for the way they played their parts. I also enjoyed Mary Cleophas. Every family should have someone like her to bear some of the brunt of smoothing out the tangled web of family dissensions.

I know that the Connecticut Nutmeg is widely read, but perhaps some of my readers are not familiar with it, and so I would like to suggest that those who are looking for news ways to peace, get a copy of the March 30th issue and read: "Peace by Wireless," by Irving Caesar. The difficulty is that in this plan, as in many others, nations must agree or it will not operate successfully. Perhaps, when we are war-weary and sane again for a short time, this idea of using the radio to let the people of different nations really know what their neighbors in the world are thinking, on any given subject at any given time, might be a new way to peace. In any case, we should neglect no new idea. Everything is worth a trial.

The world over, people are considering the radio more and more a necessity. They listen when they would not read, perhaps some of them cannot read. If we could get the habit of sending important messages, which represent the thinking of groups of people throughout the world, from one nation to another, I feel sure it would increase our knowledge and understanding of each other.